Hurricane Maria (2017)
'''Hurricane Maria '''is the first Category 5 hurricane of the season, causing catastrophic damage in Central America. It peaked with winds of 185 mph, and pressure of 899 mbar. It formed on August 17 and later it made landfall in South America. Later it grow to be a powerful Central American hurricane, and later it made landfall in Texas as Category 4. It caused massive damage in Texas and Central America, and one of the deadliest in the recent years. It caused a total damage of $75 billion and death toll of 6355. It's weird eye structure puzzled a lot of meteorologists, but it turns out that it is caused by fluctuating convection plus thunderstorm bursts within the center. Maria caused a lot of chaos within Central America. Because of this, it is retired and replaced by ''Margot ''for 2023 season. Meteorological History An area of low pressure southwest of Cape Verde on August 12 was spotted, which was expected to merge with a tropical wave that just emerged off the coast of Africa within a few days. Instead the two systems remained separate, with the first low pressure area coalescing into Potential Tropical Cyclone Thirteen by 12:00 UTC on August 17, and the other system moving farther north, eventually becoming Potential Tropical Cyclone Fourteen, which also split to separate systems, which would have been become Tropical Storm Nate and Hurricane Pierre. A reconnaissance aircraft investigating the system was able to locate a well-defined circulation, and the disturbance was upgraded to Tropical Storm Maria. On a westward course into the Caribbean Sea, the storm was upgraded to a minimal hurricane, and made landfall hours after strengthening. It weakened, but restrengthened by 06:00 UTC on August 20. It was upgraded to a major hurricane, and later it become the first Category 5 hurricane of the season.A reconnaissance aircraft determined that Maria had peaked at 185 mph, with pressure of 899 mbar. Maria made landfall near Belize as a Category 5 at 12:00 UTC on August 23, and heavily weakened thereafter. Maria emerged into the Bay of Campeche as a tropical storm, where more conducive environmental conditions led to gradual intensification, attaining hurricane intensity by 12:00 UTC on August 26, and eventually as Category 4 with winds of 145 mph. Maria made landfall near Lousiana/Texas boarder. The system weakened to a tropical depression over eastern Texas late that day before losing tropical characteristics on August 28. Impact In Belize, as the big eye passed, the storm caused intense blows in the region, cutting communication and electricity, and destroying many homes and businesses. Gust winds were reported to be over 205 mph, making one of the highest in history. Harsh conditions was also observed in Venezuela in Honduras, where a severe landslide killed almost more than 6000 people, making one of the deadliest hurricanes since Wallace last year. Some villages were also wiped off the map, causing massive relocations. Rainfall in Tegucigalpa was about 1127 mm, making the highest on record in the country. It affected nearly all people in the country, and the worst hurricane to hit since 1998. In Nicaragua, several massive floods battered a lot of people, including the capital city of Managua. In Houston, flooding is also severe, as well as areas of Rockport, Galveston and Fulton. Many businesses closed, and electricity was cut off. In Louisiana, huge flooding was also observed, mostly in the western part. At least 45 people were killed in two states. Total damage was around $75 billion, and death toll was estimated at 6355, making the first highly destructive storm of the season. Retirement Due to the impact of the storm, the World Meteorological Organization decided to retire the name ''Maria ''and will never be used again for another Atlantic hurricane. The name ''Margot ''was chosen to replace the name in 2023. Category:Deadly storms Category:Destructive storms Category:Farm River's Creations Category:Category 5 hurricanes Category:Atlantic hurricanes